Vhils’s Large-Scale Cork Installation, “Contraste”

The massive works by Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils, are meant for the city. Known for his portraits chiseled directly onto the walls of buildings throughout the world, Portuguese artist Vhils recently experimented with the medium of cork, creating a gigantic, almost frieze-like scene of faces, words and patterns, entitled Contraste. Elements of the piece vary in depth, making it undulate as the gaze moves across, like parts of it are reaching out to the viewer. Faces are rendered in splotchy, almost pixelated densities, appearing clearly at some angles and completely disappearing in others. Contraste is big, complex, noisy and varies whichever way you look at it — true to Vhils’ forum of the city. The piece is currently on view in Covilhã, Portugal, at Portugal Telecom’s data center.